Resilient vehicle wheel



Nov. 29, 1927.

R. M. CRAVENS 1 RESILIENT VEHICLE W HEEL Filed March, 9. 1926 .INVENTOR. f/ogmsy wave v.

AT RNEYS.

etented New. 29, 1Q??? m m m. oneveiws,;=or ssooirizrm; iee"w YORK.

- MJSILIEM: vent-ate WHEEL.

"Apfil ieat ilon filed Marcus, 1926. s reiz taeor This invention is afresiilieiit wheel, and,

more particularly, 'a' resilient disk wheel for motor vehicles. simple Tana; highly efficient ;.*vehic1e wheel offthegiclise type vthi hiiniiyib'e iisedineonjuiio'tion with either pneumatic Torfsolicl tires and which by virtue of -itsowri itihereiitre- 'silienoy will absorb road shocks. and vibrathan without relyingiipon'the-re lieney' oif thoroughly. tficient, practical and economical manner.

B0 Featuresof the inventiohl other thari those Y specified Will'be apparent from "the hereinafter detailed {description elainis, when reaclfiii eoiijunotion With'htheaccompanying V inner ends ofthe spOliesSQQThese sp'okesf drawing. l. e l :5 The accompai ymg drawing illustrates one practioal enihodimeiit of the inventiomfhut I direction *iir'om the sleeve and [guided for" the coiistrectiorrtherein shown is toafhe understood as illustratlve, only, rand otas defiiimgfthe limits of the invent on.

F'guhefl showsthe Wheel ot'the. present 've 'tion partly side -elevationl'ahcl partly .in section; In "the "sectional part; for this l l sp eet' to the spoke on which it is mounted 1 s5 and in 7 order a to minimize friction, the] parts are prefer'ahly assernblecl, as shown in @Fig.

' View; the tire, frimi aridf'the two. clis'ks on the near side of' the, wheel are remoized and 5 thesleeveshoxvn in section." a

Figure 2 is a Sealan s the line 2+2 or w l which perlillt such sliding and rotary more ment with minimumfriction. Each of theeo' Figure 1.

Figure 3 is air enlarged detail section showing the manner =1n Which the annular to the spoke on whichitqsmountecl and is 3 and'supplemental disks engage one another;

Figure 4 isa similar section 'shoWi-ngfthe spoke anchrofller assembly.

Referring to the drawings,

tooarry either aisolicl lor pneu matie tire; :To the inner periphery of this rim is secured two annular disks 2 secured together :acl1acenttheir inner peripheries hyholts or other i suitable tie me nhers 3. Between these is positioned a ring; 4 Wl'l1ClrlS r1g1dly seq mired to thezdisks hy'loolts orgrivets fi whioh Th bjeet oft-he 'inv ition isito, iro vide @X l h mi h ot through the mter osed m g. The i'i gQ Lis proyidecl; at

spaoecllclistan'oes with openings. In the -al-J ternate operiings, thev'outergends of a plu- E helieal springs 6 are fanchored. oil the uxtaposecl bolts 5, WhiledIivtheintermediate. openings alitifrietion. rollers are ountgcmi spacef'clrrelatio nrto permit spokes-.66 8'f t'o.

pass between said rollers to b guided 1 thereby. r it v ll sleeve Q is adapted to encircle any eon: ventionahhub a mo be keyed or otherwise A secured thereto against :rotation on the-huh. 'The-o iter per1phery ofthe sleeve is ,pro

videcl with lugs 10ja 1cl inter-spaced lugs '11.

a turiihilekle Whilethe other end of thet urn buckle :is seemed to the inner endgof toilet-of 7o the-sprii g's 6 ,fso that through thenianip'ulation of the turn buckles the spring :6 inay heflitei siohed toproperly support the sleeve lo git idihal V moveme it by the .rol1ers f7. -so

, Mammalia each of the spokes 8* between the rings aholthe sleeve 9 is a roller 12.

This roller is adapted for simultaneous ro tation.ancllongmuchnal movement 1th re- 4,1 and embody antifriction, bearings 13,

rollers 12=rotates in a .plane perpentliorilar guided for such" rotation w-ithin .j gu icles 14 formed onwtheaimlerperipheries of the an} I it j nular clisks-2, as illustrated in Figures 2 and l I l l l edesign-atesx the rim off the Wheel whioh may be aclapted These guicles limit the rn oven e itof the rollers to: rotation while permlttir g the spokes to, freely. slide through .the rollers.

The funetionj of the rollers 12 is4to efiioiently or-(loathe Wheel structure against glateral stresses-and to accomplishthisresult with minimum alfriotio and consequent minimum Wear. A; l Tlhe hub issupportecl from the riin'hy the springs 6 which are tension springs, while the wheel parts are maintained in proper operative relation by the spokes. The function of supporting the wheel against lateral thrusts and stresses has been referred to, but these spokes have the further function of precluding the hub from running away from the rim and vice versa; The spokes are rendered capable of performing this function by the interposition of the bolts orv tie members 3, which will permit of only limited pivotal movement of the spokesbefore said spokes engage. with. said tie members. It will of course be understood that thesprings 6 will operate to urge the spokes into radial ositions, but when the wheel is driven or braked, the springs will be insuflicient and the" engagement of the spokes, with the tie members is availed of.

Small compression springs 15 are preferably associated with the outer ends of the spokes and are adapted to engage with the ring or rollers to cushion the wheel against rebound or when the wheel is subjected to severe road shocks. These cushioning springs together with the bracket 16, by

which they are mounted on the spokes further prevent the spokes from being retracted so far as to be disengaged from the guide rollers 7. 7

Inpractice, the parts are lubricated by a tube runnin along the inner surface of the ring tand file outer surface of the sleeve ,9.

The tube for lubricating the parts associated with the ring is designated 17, while the tube for lubricating the parts associated with the sleeve is designated 18. Small ducts lead from these tubes to the points of attachment 'ofthe moving parts and the ends ofthe tubes are juxtaposed with openings in the --'disks whereby grease or oil maybe introducediinto said tubes and thus fed to the moving parts. In order to cover and conceal the opening between the inner peripheries of the annular disks 2 and the hub,supplemental disks 20 are provided. These disks are of such size that they will overlap the annular disks after the manner shown in Figure 2. minimizev friction and preclude rubbing away where these disks overlap, the inner disks are preferably provided near their outer periphery andat their inner faces with annular ribs 21 of substantially dovetail cross section and these ribs are faced with leather,

rubber or other suitable material 22 held in place by spring rings 23 and 24, which are sprung into engagement with the inner and outer peripheries "to each rib, as clearly shown in Figure 3. i

The disks are secured to the hub or sleeve 'in any suitable manner to cause the ribs of the supplemental disks to be maintained at all times against the annular disks.

It will be apparent from the structure In order to which I have described that the hub is not rigidly secured to the rim of the wheel, but that, in contradistinction, these parts are adapted for limited relative rotation. This is of advantage, since such relative movement is of a cushioned or yielding character and not only produces more flexible braking, but also eliminatesundue strains occasioned by uneven transmission of power from the prime mover of the vehlcle. Even though the transmission of power be unsteady, the fluctuations thereof will be, in effect, smoothed out while being transmitted from the hub to the rim of the wheel as described. v vThe foregoing detailed description sets forth the preferred practical form of the invention, but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims. 7

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by, Letters Patent is: I

1. A resilient wheel embodying a hub, a rim, a plurality of spokes pivotally associated with the hub and extending in an outward radial direction, a plurality of springs also pivotally secured with respect to the hub and extending in an outward radial direction, a ring to which the outer ends of said springs are secured, said ring being provided with openings through which the spokes project,disks extending inwardly from the rim at both sides of the ring and rigidly secured to said ring, and means for precluding pivotal movement of the spokes with respect to the hub beyond predetermined limits.

2. A resilient wheel embodying ahub, a rim, a plurality'of spokes pivotally associated with the hub and extending in an outward radial direction, a plurality of sprin also pivotally secured with respect tot e hub and extending in an outward radial direction, a ring to which the outer ends of said springs are secured, said ring being pro 110 vided with openin s through which "the spokes project, annu ar disks secured to the rim and extending inwardly and enclosing said ring, means for rigidly securing-the ring to 0th disks, guides carried by' said 115 disks on their inner faces and near their illner margins, and rollers carried by the spokes and engaging with said guides.

3. A resilient wheel embodying a hub, a rim, a plurality of spokes pivotally associated 120 with the hub and extending in an outward radial direction, a plurality of springs also pivotally secured with respect to the hub and extending in an outward radial direction, a ring to which the outer ends of said springs are 125 secured, said ring'being provided with openings through which the spokes project disks extending radially inward from the rim at both sides of the ring and provided near their'inner peripheries with guides,'means 130 1,650,610 p I a 3 for rigidly securing the ring to said disks, ribs faced with non-metallic material to rollers mounted on the spokes and cooperatbear against the outer faces of the annular ing With the guides of said disks, and supdisks, and means for limiting the pivotal l0 plemental disks associated With the hub for movement of the spokes Within predeter- 5 closing the space between the inner periphmined limits. r

eries of the disks and said huh, said supple- 7 mental disks being provided with annular RIDGWAY M. GRAVENS. 

